Negotiations are well underway. On November 3, the largest U.S. commercial printing group announced the signing of a sale agreement with the Atlas Group . Atlas will buy the shares of NYSE-listed RR Donnelley & Sons (RRD) for $8.52. In early December, the printer, which had $4.77 billion in sales in 2020, received an offer from Chatham: the investment fund, which already owned 14.9 percent of RRD's shares, proposed $7.50 per share. The offer is rejected. Chatham goes up to 9.10. Rejected. Then to 10.25. The offer is accepted . But a week later, Atlas came in and offered $10.35. Today, there's a new twist: Chatham is making a higher proposal at $10.85.
"Today's announcement is a testament to the robust process we have in place to maximize value for all shareholders, says John C. Pope, chairman of the board of directors in a statement. Our Board of Directors and management team remain committed to acting in the best interests of RRD and all of its shareholders, and will continue to take steps to achieve that goal."
Under the terms of the agreement, Atlas, which operates in a wide range of sectors including packaging, paper and printing, has the opportunity, until December 16, 2021, to modify its offer so that Chatham's proposal no longer constitutes a superior proposal and can thus be validated by the board of directors.
